Silence
by Ducky2196
Summary: Olivia and Peter have a case that brings back memories of Olivia's childhood. Can they work through the memories to help a young child. Set after Marionette but before 6B M for sex, violence, child abuse and more.
1. Chapter 1

**First off I want to say that I was very, **_**very**_** hesitant to actually upload this (just ask noz4a2 and ab89us) please let me know what you think, honeslty and I promise that Olivia as a child will not be anymore graphic than this first chapter…although should I make it p/o, that will be :D**

**Ok so this is going to be graphic and dark and painful but hopefully a good story. M for sex, violence, child abuse and more. Each chapter will be split into two halves, young Olivia and now Olivia.**

**Chapter 1**

5 year old Olive Dunham sat in the corner of the cupboard. Her yellow dress streaked with blood and dirt. It was dark inside the cupboard and quiet out in the rest of the house, two of the things she wanted most out of everything in the world. But then the only sound to break that silence, the only sound she could hear was the heavy footsteps of the man in the house.

"Come out, come out, where ever you are." That sound should have been the sound of a fun afternoon playing and having fun. spending time with her step father while her sister and mother were away. But instead, she spent the whole time hiding from him. "Olive. I will find you…" She heard the bedroom door open and slam closed, knowing that it wouldn't be long before he finds her. His footsteps creaking on the wooden floorboards, slow and calculated. She placed her hand over her mouth to stop the sound of her breathing, also to cover the sound of the sob that was threatening to escape her mouth and in turn it seemed to stop his footsteps.

His shadow formed outside the door and it froze, turned and forced the door open. Olive gasped at the force and the evil smirk that had formed on his face. "Sweetheart, I told you I would find you…" Olive felt the force on her arm as he pulled her from the cupboard and onto the large bed. She laid very still, she had learnt long ago that _it_ hurt more if she moved and so she stay quiet and still but that didn't stop the tears from falling. "Shh sweetheart. Don't cry." He spoke in her ear.

His hand traveled up her leg slowly, causing painful goosebumps to form, he reached the hem of her dress, his hand only kept going. The higher his hand went, the slower it traveled, feeling her skin and drawing lazy patterns on her thigh. More tears fell and his hand found he underwear. Playing with the side, he pulled them down slowly. Once they reached her feet, Olive tensed instinctively and it didn't help when she felt his fingers wondering back up her leg and under her dress. He touched her, felt her, rubbed her and all she could do was cry. _He_ made it hurt more if she screamed and so she was silent, squeezing her eyes closed and hoped it was all just a dream.

It had always been a strange feeling, this foreign object inside of her, moving painfully. She never liked it, never wanted it. It hurt and she cried, silently.

* * *

31 year old Olivia Dunham stood outside the second floor unit, on the left of the door, gun at the ready and bullet proof vest tightened to the max. She wasn't alone, SWAT waited for her order, agents waited for her make a move. She was frozen for a moment, listening for anything sighs of life inside. It was quiet and dark, the rain outside had picked up and at the moment, it matched her mood perfectly. She motioned for an agent to be on the right of the door and someone whispered in her ear "Livia, you sure about this?" It was deep and she recognized it instantly. "Yes." She hissed his silence and that's what he became.

Stepping in front of the door, she raised her foot and her gun and decidedly slammed her foot into the door, causing it to explode off its hinges. She advanced into the entrance, clearing it within a moment. SWAT followed, searching each room, finding nothing but empty can of beer and bottles of vodka. There was no food, none that was edible anyway, no clean clothes and the water ran brown.

Each room was cleared. The house was empty. Standing in the middle of the bedroom, Olivia stared at the bloodied clothing, small enough to fit a child, a 5 year old child. Her jaw locked as Peter walking into behind her, searching the room with his eyes until they fell on the clothing. Bloodied underwear and ripped dresses, his heart ached. They were both silent.

"There's nothing here, Agent Dunham. The house is clear." The SWAT leader spoke from the doorway before turning back to his men and motioning for them to go back to the hall way. Olivia was certain this is where they would find the child. She had made a promise to herself that she would find the little girl, but for some reason, they had come up short and she couldn't understand why. Peter noticed her displacement and stepped towards her, placing a hand on her arm. "I'm sorry Liv. We will find her." He knew this was important to her, more than it should have been but her emotions made her the agent she was and no one dared question that.

She turned to face him but he kept his hand on her arm, her stare fixed on him, no words were spoken. He took a step towards the door hoping to coheres her into coming with him and she did, begrudgingly. Somewhere between the middle of the bedroom and the doorway, Peter's hand had slipped into hers, he had been doing that a lot during this case and they both knew it was a show of encouragement. When they were in view of others, their hands were not together but in moments like this, when they were alone, he would hold her small hand in his large one.

She stopped in the doorway suddenly. His hand jerking from hers, he turned to face her, but came to find her back was to him and head moving as thought she was scanning the room again. "Dunham?" he was in full view of the other agents and had returned to his professionalism. She would have grinned if she had been listening to him but something had occurred in her mind.

She moved around the room slowly, seemingly as if she was hunting something or someone. She was facing Peter now and he watched as she eyes darted around the room, concentrating on the smallest of details and the smallest of things.

Step by step she finally turned around and face the cupboard. Reaching out slowly, she laid her hand on the doorknob and turned it. It swung open. The smell of old clothes found her nose but her eyes glued onto the small form in the corner of the cupboard, knees to her chest and her yellow dress bloodied. Olivia knelt down slowly, trying not to scare the child. She was shaking like a leaf and her cheeks were covered in tears. The little girl's face rose slightly and softened when she saw Olivia looking at her. "Hey sweetie. It's ok. Do you want to come with me?"

The little girl watched Olivia closely for a moment, before creeping from her hiding place and into the door way. She looked around and froze when she saw Peter standing in the room. Shuffling back to her seat quickly, she brought her knees to her chest and held them there. Her eyes full of panic and fear. Olivia glanced back at Peter, who's face had softened even more at the sight of the child. "Peter, why don't you take the other agents outside so I can get her out." Olivia whispered but Peter hesitated. "You sure?" Olivia smiled gently and nodded. She watched him leave before turning back to the girl.

"Charlotte, he is gone. Do you want to come with me? We can get you out of here." Olivia had sat on the floor, Indian style, she outstretched her hand hoping the girl would take it. "How do you know my name?" it was quiet and scared. Olivia smiled, "Because I am here to help you. I'm here to keep you safe." Charlotte brought her fingers to her mouth and chewed on them for a moment. "Promise?" Olivia smiled once again.

"I promise." Charlotte scooted over to Olivia and was pulled into her arms. "You are safe with me." Olivia held her close as she walked back into the entrance to the house, Peter stood off to the side. Charlotte noticed him before Olivia did and she began to shake in Olivia's arms, she buried her head in Olivia's shoulder and held on for dear life. "Liv, we are going to have to get her used to being around men. At least until we can get her back to the lab." Peter's voice was quiet but Olivia agreed. This was something she didn't want to have to do.

"Charlotte honey, can you look at me?" Olivia brushed away some hair that had stuck to Charlotte's cheeks, and Charlotte looked at Olivia through red eyes. "Can you listen to me for a second?" Charlotte nodded. "See this man? He wants to say hello. He is my best friend and I promise that he won't hurt you." Peter tried to take a step forward but Charlotte let out a whimper. "Remember when I told you that I promise to keep you safe?" Charlotte nodded again, "Well he wants to help me do that." Her head rose slightly and looked once at Peter and back at Olivia, "Does he keep you safe?" Olivia glanced up at Peter who had become silent.

"Yes. Yes he does." She spoke never taking her eyes from Peter who smiled and nodded a thank you. Since coming back and dealing with the fall out from Altlivia, Peter and Olivia had been strained. He was trying to prove he wanted her and she was trying to keep her insecurities down. She had started letting him in more during this case and they had even been spending more time together, Peter could only hope that Olivia was letting him in.

Charlotte looked up at Peter from under her lashes, she blinked a few times before shifting in Olivia's arms. "What's your name?" She spoke and Peter took another few steps towards her, so he was standing right next to Olivia. "My name is Peter. And I promise I will keep you safe." She leaned over slightly and watched him before turned back to Olivia and closing her eyes.

Walking to the car, Olivia and Peter were intent on getting her check out at the hospital before organizing what to do. The car trip was uneventful and silent. Charlotte had finally taken a liking to Peter, although she was hesitant at first around him, she seemed to trust Olivia and whatever Olivia said she believed.

They both knew they were going to have problems when another male agent tried to come and speak to Olivia, who was standing next to who was holding Charlotte. As he got closer to them, Charlotte began to shake and cry and held on to Peter's collar like it was keeping her alive. Realizing that she wasn't going to go with or be with any other males, Olivia was beginning to think that the child was going to grow up with more issues than she ever did.

Olivia looked in the rear vision mirror and smiled to herself. Peter was sitting in the back of the car, Charlotte still held tightly against him but she was fast asleep. Her head buried in his collar and her hands griping his shirt tightly. His hands running up and down her back gently and his cheek resting on the top of her head. He looked so sad and broken as he held her, much like Olivia felt when this case came across her desk.

**Please Review, so i know if i should continue! :D**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey guys, that's for all the support from the first chapter, it really makes me happy that I uploaded it. I do have a question…what would you all prefer? More of a P/O fic with some of the case or more case than P/O? Please let me know so I can work on the next few chapters. **

**Please review! :D**

**Chapter 2 **

7 year old Olivia Dunham sat at the back of her class, staring blankly at the book sitting in front of her. "Ok class, it's time for show and tell. Can those who's day it is please come to the front.

Olivia almost laughed at herself. It was her turn this week but she had nothing to show or tell about. She almost laughed because she could show her bruises or tell about the times her stepfather slams her against the staircase. Dropping down in her seat she waited for the teacher to come past and ignore her, but with her luck the teacher decided it was time for Olivia to stand up in front of the class. "Olivia honey would you like to come up here and show us what you brought?" Every child in the class turned to look at her now and all she could do was sit there. "Olivia…?" The teacher stepped forward and placed his hand on Olivia's shoulder.

She cringed at the touch and cried out in agony. The teachers hand shot backwards and she looked down at the small child who was trying to keep her tears back. Kneeling down next to Olivia, her teacher pulled the shoulder of her t-shirt down to reveal a black and blue bruise that extended down her arm. As he touched her arm once more, this time lower, Olivia pulled her arm away and held it close to her chest, "Olivia, what happened?" The teacher spoke softly but Olivia didn't move, "I fell down the stairs at home. That's all" Standing suddenly, the teacher exited the room and came back minutes later with another female teacher.

It didn't take long before Olivia was sitting in the principles office with tears streaking down her cheeks. Her mother and step father standing behind her. "Now you must understand why we are concerned about Olivia. She has a large bruise on her shoulder that extends down her arm. I would like to get her checked out by a doctor. I afraid she might have a broken arm." The principle spoke. "We took her get that checked out already. Her and her sister have a bunk bed at home and while trying to get into it Olivia fell backwards and landed on her shoulder. The doctor said she was fine." Her stepfather's voice filled the room and Olivia had to struggle not to cringe.

The lie was simple and easy, too easy to say. Her stepfather was smooth, calm and collected. The only thing he didn't know was that she had told the teacher her had fallen down the stairs, not off her bunk bed. But she knew he was going to get away with it again and she knew that when she got some, she would pay dearly.

_31 year old Olivia Dunham sat in her office surrounded by piles and piles of paperwork. Although she wished she could be at her office at FBI headquarters she knew she had to stay in the lab. But sitting in this office so close yet so far from the man she had fallen in love with, the same man who had broken her heart, it had become fragile. _

_Her office door swung open and Broyles and Peter walked through. Neither knocking or speaking until the door was closed once more. Peter took a seat across from Olivia and Broyles spoke before she had a chance to ask what was going on. "Agent, I have a case I would like you to over see. Bishop will be helping you on it, there is not argument there." He dropped a file on her desk and Olivia chanced a glance in Peter's direction. "Her name is Charlotte Decker and she had been missing for over a week. We believe she is still alive though." He stopped and waited for her to look up from the photo of the 5 year old girl. Deep blue eyes and curly brown hair. _

"_So what does this have to do with Fringe?" Peter spoke, seemingly oblivious to what the case actually entailed. "Nothing. I am asking for your help Agent Dunham because we suspect the stepfather of having something to do with it." Olivia's attention was now undivided. "Charlotte's stepfather has abused her, broken bones, sexually abused and molested her." Broyles spoke as though it hurt him to say the things he was saying. "So…what would you like us to do…?" Peter was hesitant when he spoke, knowing what Olivia had gone through, he knew that that was the reason why she had been asked to oversee the case. _

"_I want you and Peter to find her. She is the niece of a very close friend but he has not been able to do anything about it because her stepfather is her legal guardian." Olivia watched Broyles as he watched her. Peter needed to know what she was thinking, but knew with the way they were, she wasn't going to give anything away. "We'll find her sir." And with that she pulled the case file in front of her, intent of find the child. _

The hospital had been a nightmare for them. Charlotte clung to Olivia in the hospital room, Peter sitting not far from both girls. She screamed as soon as any man came anywhere near her, there was more people in the waiting room than she had seen in her life. "I want to go home." She whispered in Olivia's ear. "Sweetheart, we will look after you. We promised remember…?" Charlotte looked towards Peter, who had now come to sitting next to Olivia, she sighed like an adult, not the five year old she should be, "_he_ promised it wouldn't hurt." She looked down at the bed sheets before starting to pick at them. Peter sighed as he watched the little girl, she was so tiny and fragile that he honestly didn't know how she was still able to trust any one, especially him.

The room was silent. They were alone, Charlotte had finally fallen sleep, it had taken them a while before they had been able to get her to close her eyes and it also too a lot of persuading from Peter as well. The little girl seemed to listen to him, Olivia was thankful for that, she just wanted to make sure Charlotte was going to be ok. He glanced back at Olivia who was sitting with her legs up on the chair and her arms crossed, she had also fallen asleep finally but Peter could tell that it was less than peaceful. Letting her head fall to the side of the chair, Peter noticed that her face was scrunched as if in pain. Her arms around herself, like a small child, trying to hide from a monster.

Not being able to take seeing her that way, Peter walked over to her and knelt in front of her. Resting his hand on her knee he watched for another moment, trying to take in what she looked like. She was paler, darker around the eyes. She hadn't been eating much and sleep was never even close, and if it was it was much like this. Peter wanted to be able to help her but after she had found out what he had done with her alternate, she didn't want him around. It was only just with the stress of this case did she lean on him a little more.

Sighing, he gently placed his hand on her arm, hoping the touch would calm her or wake. It did neither and so deciding that she meant to much to him to see suffer, he placed his hand on her cheek, rubbing gently and whispering, "Come on Livia, wake up." His voice found her ears and her eyes flashed open, the gasping breath she was taking in slowed and her eyes found his. "Hey you're ok." She sat up slowly and looked around, his hand never leaving her face and he was thankful she hadn't pushed him away. "What happened?" was all she was able to croak out before swinging her legs over the side of the chair, in turn his hand fell from her cheek to rest on her thigh. "You were having a nightmare." She nodded slowly, trying to calm her breathing down.

Apart from the occasional hand holding during this case, they hadn't even been this close since he had kissed her on the forehead the day she woke up in the hospital. Her breath fanned over his face as they watched each other and Olivia could feel the want and need to be held by him, but her fear and the pain of what he had done was holding her back. She had tried to let him in during this case, tried to let him closer to her, and it was working until she would close her eyes and see them together and then she couldn't bring herself to be close to him. Clearing her throat, Olivia moved off the chair and towards the bed, looking down at Charlotte. "How is she doing?"

Peter rose from his knelt position and looked at her, he had seen the change in her eyes and knew it had something to do with him. Sighing he ran his hand through his hair, moving closer to her, "About the same as you…" Olivia's head shot up and she glared at him, shocked he would say something like that. Peter corrected himself, "Asleep but having nightmares." Sitting on the side of the bed, Peter ran his hand over Charlottes face gently, watching her as she turned and snuggled closer to him. Olivia watched his face, fascinated as to how he could have come to be so close to the child so quickly. She knew how she did but Peter was different, he had just taken to her and her to him. "She really likes you…" her voice was above a whisper but he heard it. Opting to be completely honest with her, something he had decided on when she had come home, he nodded but never took his eyes off the child. "If I can help her when I couldn't help you, I'm hoping I won't feel as useless as I do."

Swallowing, Olivia took a step closer to him, her hand were shaking when she placed it down onto his shoulder, stopping his movements, his eyes flickering from Charlotte's face for a split second before finding Olivia's then back to the child. "Peter…your not useless…" His free hand shot up to rest of the one that was sitting on his shoulder, stopping her voice in her throat. "Please don't Olivia. I know what I did and I have to live with the fact that I hurt you. I know you've been hurt in the past but I never thought I would be one of the reasons you would be hurting." His voice croaked and trailed off at the end of his sentence. Standing abruptly, he turned towards the door. "I'll bring back some coffee." And with that, he was gone.

**Please let me know what you all think! :D**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey guys, thanks so much for the reviews! They are so helpful and I promise that I am trying to keep them in character. This took a little longer to write and I am away this weekend so I will try and get some written if not it will be a little later on the next chapter. Enjoy!**

**Chapter 3**

4 year old Olive Dunham watched as her stepfather held her mother's hand, bringing her to his side, they were at her preschool Christmas concert and each child was to perform something for their parents, in this case, her abusing stepfather and pregnant mother. It hadn't been long since her real father had died at war, leaving her mother to raise a small child and find out she was pregnant with another…that's where _he_ came in. Walked into their lives like he was always there and turned both their lives upside down.

Standing in the middle of the stage, she watched as her mother kissed him on the cheek, unknowing of what he has done to her, she feel sick, watching as he 'lovingly' looks back her mother while she knows that is really behind his eyes. Her part was coming, she would have to stand in the middle of the stage and sing for them, for her mother, and for him. He made her sing, when they were alone, he would make her stand in front of him, wearing very little and sing in to a camera. Something that would make her cry before she could even get the first words out.

When her name was called she came to stand in the spot light, like every other child, he wasn't supposed to have been there tonight, he was supposed to be at home, asleep and smelling like alcohol. Looking out over the crowd Olive froze, her legs trembled as she watched the lights from the camera's flash and the one in his hand flick to red, meaning that he was recording. Somehow she found the strength to cover her mouth with her hand, trying to stop the sob that was forming in her throat, and showing that she was scared. She was the last to go on stage, being the smallest and now standing there, watching him as he watched her, she couldn't do it. She couldn't bring herself to open her mouth.

"Olive dear, are you ok?" Olive locked her eyes with her mother, who had pulled away from her stepfather and was leaning forward, as if she was going to rise from her seat, but Olive had already taken off, run from the stage and behind the curtain. "Olive, Olive are you ok? What's wrong dear?" Her teacher's voice found her ears, but the sobs that were coming from her lips stopped any form of answer. "It's ok, I've got her…" Her head snapped up and the sound of a males voice and her blurry eyes found his impossibly soft looking eyes. Moving a little further into the corner when the teacher left, Olive felt her stepfather's hand enclose on her small arm. "Listen to me, you will go out there and sing, or you won't be able to play for a long time." He lifted her easily from the ground forcibly moved her back to the stage where she slowly made her way back to the center, tears streaking down her face as she turned back to the crowd. Sniffing, she sucked in a breath and her small voice filled the hall with a happy Christmas song, sung in a hauntingly sad voice.

* * *

"You want to do _what?"_ shock laced Peter's voice as he stood outside Charlotte's hospital room with Olivia. His arms were crossed over his chest and he watched her closely, trying to understand what was going on inside her head, "Livia, are you sure this is what you want to do? I mean, it's going to be so hard for both of you…" He reached out to touch her arm gently, but she pulled away, a sudden flash of anger finding her eyes.

"Peter, she has no one! I'm not going to let her go through the system where she will be forgotten and abused. Ok, drop it because I have made my choice!" She turned away from him, leaving him momentarily stunned. Dropping his head, Peter sighed, this case was going to be harder than he thought and now that Olivia had suddenly decided that Charlotte was going to go home with her, he knew it was going to get so much worse. Glancing into the hospital room, he noticed that Charlotte was asleep and so he took his leave, making a break for the door, with every intention of going home.

His drive back the house was silent, thinking over every small detail of the case and how they were actually going to solve it, just because they had the child doesn't mean it was over. He knew that Olivia wouldn't rest until the girls' stepfather was caught and he was going to be with her every step of the way. She had started letting him back into her life, albeit very slowly. But small steps were better than none at all. Groaning, Peter knew that he couldn't walk away from her like he did in the hospital, so he threw the car into reverse and heading back towards the one place he knew she would be.

Pulling up beside her SUV in the Harvard parking lot, he was quickly out of the car and into the building, his steps echoing through the deserted halls. Pushing the lab door open softly, he glanced around and found her right where he expected to, hunched over files on one of the lab tables, her back in an awkward position and her left hand rubbing the back of her neck. "What do you want Peter?" she didn't even have to turn around to know he was there, yet it didn't shock him at all. Taking the last steps to the landing, he came to stand behind her, glancing over her shoulder at the files that were splashed out in front of her. "Liv, it's after midnight, are you going to go and get some sleep?" She didn't move, just tapped her pen on to the desk, ignoring him.

Annoyed that she was not listening to him, he reached around and grabbed the pen from her, "hey, come on, you need sleep and if you are really going to have Charlotte come and stay with you, you are going to need to work things out." An angry streak flashed across her face and spun on her seat, coming to face Peter, "Peter, you know I can't do that! I have to find this guy before he comes after her again. He wasn't just abusing her, he was terrorizing her Peter, she won't grow up like a normal child could. She will -" Peter placed his hand on her shoulder to stop her from talk.

"Liv, it's ok, come on, relax… Now…where do we start looking?" She watched as Peter took a seat next to her, reaching for the file that was left sitting in the middle of the table. "Peter…you don't have to, I can do this…" she was trying to give him an out, a chance to go home and sleep but there was no way he would leave her on her own to go over notes of a case that reminded her of how she grew up, "Olivia I'm not going anywhere…now lets find him." Staring at him as he want to work, Olivia slowly turned back to her own file, searching names and places, hoping that something would jump out at her. three hours and five pots of coffee later, Olivia dropped her head to the table, finally letting the exhaustion take over. Closing her eyes for a moment, she let the cool of the metal on her face calm her, a deep sigh escaping her lips as she raised her arms to her head, moving so they rested underneath her. It didn't take long before she had succumb to the sleep she desperately needed.

Peter was so lost in his own thoughts that he never noticed Olivia start to drift off, it wasn't until the soft sound of her gentle snoring found his ears did he look up, well down, at her. Dropping his file and glancing at the time, he sighed. She had been awake almost 36 hours and he was not much better, deciding to do the only thing he could, he went to her side, lifted her into his arms, hers instinctively wrapping around his neck, and carried her to the couch where a blanket and pillow were set up – for those times a few years ago when Peter used to sleep on the couch after one of Walters late night wake up calls. Placing her down gently on the couch, he placed the blanket over her and a gentle kiss on her forehead. She was so tired, she didn't even feel him move her. Moving back to the lab bench, Peter yawned, stretched and went back to the files that were waiting for him.

Groaning, Peter rolled her head back, trying to stretch his neck out. He had been sitting at the lab table for another two hours after he had put Olivia on the couch and she hadn't moved, hugging the pillow tightly, the one he knew smelt like him. Rubbing his eyes and glancing at the clock he noticed that it was now almost 5am, and he was no where near finding out where the stepfather was. The soft banging of the lab doors caught his attention and he looked up to find Broyles walking through the door. Turning more to face the older man Peter raised his finger to his lips, signaling for quiet and then motioned in Olivia's directing, showing Broyles that she was sleeping and they needed to be quiet. "How's it going Bishop?" he could tell Broyles was tired as well, his voice was low and heavy. Peter sighed and motioned back to the files on the table.

"Both me and Liv have tried everything to find this guy but we have no idea where he is or what he is doing. She fell asleep about two hours ago so I have just been trying to find something, _anything_ that will help her and Charlotte. Because you and me both know this case means more to Olivia than it should." Broyles nodded, that was one of the reasons he had asked her, he didn't want to bring up any memories or feelings that could hurt her but he also knew that her determination to find and help this little girl would be enough to stop this guy. "Yeah I'm sure it is. Bishop, listen, I was told last night that Olivia is thinking of having Charlotte come and stay with her. Now I know that she is registered as an adoptive parent, because of her niece, but I want to make sure that you will be around to help her."

Peter glanced up at Broyles, slightly confused, "Listen…" he took a seat in the one Olivia had occupied a few hours ago, "…Bishop…Olivia is going to need your help, not so much looking after Charlotte because I know she will be capable of doing that but I mean her, this case is bound to bring up memories I wish she didn't have but with you by her side, I know she can get through it. I understand that the two of you have been at odds lately, but I knew that since I dropped this file on her desk you two have been patching things up, albeit very slowly, but I did see you holding her hand the other day…" Broyles smiled to himself when he saw Peter's head drop in an embarrassed way. "…It's ok Bishop, after everything, you both deserve to be happy but I came down here to make sure that she is ok and dealing with this case the best way she knows how." Peter raised his eye line to his boss's and smiled gently, "I'm not going anywhere. It's not only Liv who needs me either, I seem to be the only guy that Charlotte will let near her."

Broyles nodded once more before glancing behind him to Olivia, watching her for a moment. "You should get her home, the hospital will want to talk to you both before they let Charlotte out." Moving silently from the chair, Broyles left Peter alone to watch as Olivia pulled the pillow closer to her head, a small smile gracing her lips. Dropping the pen he moved to Olivia's side, "Hey, wake up…Livia…" He leaned down a little further, whispering in her ear, only to see her eyes flutter and her head being buried in the pillow, her hair slipping over her shoulder revealing her neck. Taking full sight of the tattoo he had never seen before, Peter let his fingers run gently over the back of her neck, feeling the shiver and goose bumps that rose from his touch, he was so transfixed on the tattoo he didn't hear her wake.

"They put it on me, over there, to make me believe I was her, she had one in the same place. They made me believe I was her, and I did." She had sat up now but her eyes were dropped away from his but she spoke again, "I really did think about you over there though. When I thought I was her, I kept seeing you…" she laughed softly remembering how she really did think she was going crazy when she started seeing the Secretary's Son. "Livia, I am so, so sorry…" He was cut off by her thumb over his lips and her hand on his cheek, "I know you are Peter. Come on, we should get going before I fall asleep again." She moved to sit up, the motion causing her to be inches from him, his breath on her cheek, she turned her head slowly to look at his face, he was so close but before anything could happen, and she could honestly say she wanted it to, he placed a small kiss on her cheek and pulled away, taking her hand and pulling her with him.

"Livia I know what you are worried about, I know that you are worried you won't be good enough, or that she is better than you and one day I want to show you how untrue all of that is, that it will always be you that I want and this version is the one that I want. But right now you and me have a small girl who needs our help…" As if right on time, Olivia's phone rang, giving Peter an apologetic smile she answered, her eyes landing back on the floor as she listened and few small words fell from her lips, telling the person on the other line that she was listening. Suddenly her eyes shot up to Peters and she watched him as she thanked the person on the line. Slipping her phone into her pocket she took Peter's hand. "That was the hospital, they said a nurse reported someone outside of Charlottes room, he matches the stepfather description. They are getting the footage ready for us to view. And Charlotte is screaming for us, I think she saw him outside her room."

Olivia lead Peter out of the lab, all tiredness had left them both and now they were running on pure coffee and adrenaline, although as much as Peter loved having his hand in hers, he just wanted sleep. Little did he know, he was going to get sleep and he would be happy about it, for once.

**Please review! :D**


	4. Chapter 4

**Thanks for all the reviews and to be honest, I really don't like this chapter…so please please review! **

**Chapter 4**

8 year old Olive Dunham stormed down the hallway, slamming and locking the door to her bathroom. He was drunk again, screaming, yelling, throwing things around the house. Her mother had taken Rachel out to a friend's birthday so Olive was his only target, and he took his target practice. He'd come into her bedroom last night again, it was hard and painful, so far it was the most painful of all the times he had come into her bed at night but now he was throwing glasses around the house. They hit walls and doors and the television, which he blamed on Olive because she ducked when it was supposed to hit her. He had hit her as well, a small glass had collided with her back as she turned from him, intent on just leaving him to yell and scream and eventually pass out like he did every time.

But this was different, this time she knew it was different, so much so, she was so happy that Rachel wasn't even in the house. He had taken a knife to her when she had woken up that morning, calling her names and saying she had done things that she could never have done. He had actually gotten her before she had a chance to get away from him, the cut on her arm was deep, the blood pouring painfully, she could feel herself becoming cold and sweaty, needless to say, she was scared. Standing in the middle of her bathroom, Olive looked back at herself in the mirror, tears pouring down her cheeks, the blood dripping from the cut, down her hand, off her fingers and dropping to the floor. "DAMN IT! DON'T YOU RUN FROM ME!"

She jumped, not having heard him come up the stairs but also not expecting him to come after her again, he never came more than once, but standing on the other side of a locked door, hearing him pounding away on it, screaming, she didn't now what to do. Slipping silently into the tub, Olive pulled the curtain, brought her knees to her chest and rocked herself, wishing he would just go away, leave her and her family alone for once. The sudden pounding stopped, his footsteps receding before the front door was opened and them slammed shut. It took no more than five minutes before Olive had gotten the courage to open the bathroom door, she hadn't heard him come back into the house and so peaking out of the door slowly, she looked up and down the corridor, it was eerily quiet in her house for the first time in a long time.

A car caught her attention and she heard the front door opened once more. Gasping suddenly she slammed the bathroom door once more, hiding the corner, wishing that he hadn't come back. "OLIVE!" her mothers voice echoed through the quiet home, but Olive couldn't move, nothing in this world would make her move from her spot in the floor, blood pooling around her bare feet and staining her jeans. "Olive!" once more sounded through the house, this time coupled with the sound of footsteps coming up the stairs, towards the bathroom door. A slight knocking sounded and all she could do was gasp, she really didn't want to believe that it was her mother standing out side, shaking like a leaf in a storm, little Olive let out a sob that could have broken anybody's heart.

When the door opened, the first thing Olive saw was her our year old sister peering in behind her mothers legs, she looked scared, but it was nothing compared to her mothers face, that she was still avoiding but she had seen that look before, many time. Nothing was said, no words, no quieting and comforting words as Olive cried, as her mother picked her up off the ground, carried her to the car and traveled silently to the hospital. This time a hospital that was in the opposite direction to the one the usually went to. Her mother knew that they were getting suspicious about all the injuries that Olive had come in with. It wasn't that she didn't want to help her daughter or get away from the man that terrorized them, but the last time someone had come asking questions, it had made things ten times worse for them.

The hospital was quiet, Olive sat on her own the bed, her knees to her chest and her now bandaged arm wrapped around them, holding herself tightly. Her knew the doctors and nurses were asking her mother questions, she could tell, the look in their eyes as they spoke to her mother. The short answers that her mother was no doubt giving them, the same story of her daughter falling off her bike or down the stairs (which had been used so often). "Olive…" the voice was quiet, scared and shaking, Olive looked up to find Rachel coming through the door, holding the bottom of her dress, unsure of if she could come closer. "Hey Rach, come here…" it had been a ritual for both the girls, whether Olive was in the hospital or after she had been hit by her stepfather, Rachel would come and sit on the bed with her, the two girls falling asleep together, holding each other close.

Marilyn watched through the glass windows as her youngest daughter slipped on the bed with her eldest. She watched as her 8 year old pulled her sister close to her, like a mother should do after a nightmare or something scary had happened. Letting a lone tear slip down her cheek, Marilyn pitted her children, neither of them felt safe in the house and their mother as doing anything to try and keep them safe.

"What the hell is he doing?" Olivia stood over the shoulder of the security guard that was showing them the footage of Charlottes stepfather. They watched as he paced the stairwell, then paced the corridor outside her room, every now and then glancing up at the camera before touching the wall. Peter was standing next to her, both trying to understand what this guy was actually doing. There was a moment when he just stopped, stood in the middle of the hall before continuing to pace, like an expectant father waiting for his child to be born.

Touching her arm, Peter motioned for Olivia to come to stand at the side, he had a though. "Dunham…" he was being professional again, making her smiled inwardly, "…what if this guy is waiting for something, he looks like there should be something that should be happening, you know?" She looked at Peter before glancing at the screen, sighing. She honestly had no idea what this guy was doing. She knew that he was mentally unstable, they had worked that out from the psych reports and the medical files, but this was something totally different, it was as if this guy was worried about her, wanting to make sure she was going to be ok. It was strange and confused the hell out of Olivia, she was struggling to profile this guy, everything she knew, he was going against.

"Peter, maybe we should go and see how Charlotte is doing? The doctor told me they want to keep her in for a few more days, it'll give me more time to get ready and also to make sure that I have all I need at home to find this guy. I'm taking a few weeks off to help settle her. God, why can't anything be easy!" Olivia groaned before turning away from Peter, making a break for the door and leaving Peter to be alone in the room, staring at the blurry, frozen image of the one person they couldn't find.

Standing outside Charlottes hospital room, Peter watched through the window as Olivia sat on the side of the bed, smiling gently at the small girl, her hand running through Charlottes hair, over her face and then grabbing a hold of her hand. He just watched them and wondered exactly what was going through Olivia's mind. Knocking on the door softly, Peter watched as Charlotte's face snapped up to the door, a fearful expression crossed her face before it relaxed when she noticed it was him. "Hey sweetheart, how are you?" He came to stand next to Olivia and watched as Charlotte reached out for him, wanting to be in his arms.

Laughing, Peter leaned down and picked her up, bringing her to his chest and walking towards the window. Olivia watched on as Peter pointed out certain things in the sky, explaining the different stars and the moon, he was doing an amazing job at taking her mind off the fact that she had seen her stepfather when she woke up. "…And see that star over there…? The one that is really close to the other one?" Charlotte nodded, watching Peter so closely and so intently, she was fascinated by him, "…Well they are married, and promise to protect the out world. They do it together and keep each other safe as well." Her mouth opened in awe and looked out at the stars, "Does the boy star love the girl star?" She blinked her eyes at Peter and Olivia almost saw Peter swoon at how innocent she was, "Oh yes, they both love each other very, very much, that's why they keep each other safe…" Charlotte's smile grew.

Turning in Peter's arm's Charlotte watched Olivia and then watched Peter, her smile growing even more, "So the stars are like you and Liv…" The silence that entered the room was heavy but Peter spoke. "Yes. We protect the world, and look after each other…" Not wanting to finish off the sentence with _and I love her very, very much_ Peter turned back to the window. "…And you love her...?" Again with the blinking of her innocent eyes, Charlotte moved around in Peter's arms so she was facing Olivia now, Peter voice was soft, also broken, "Yes, I love her…Olivia is my best friend…" Sighing Peter dropped Charlotte to the ground, moved around Olivia and out the hospital door, it was still so hard for him to think about what he did, how he didn't notice.

Walking down the hall, Peter dropped his head, not thinking about anything but the sadness in Olivia's eyes or the fact that she had a tattoo for the rest of her life because of him. Bumping into someone who was coming in the opposite direction, Peter glanced up and mumbled an apology before dropping his head once more and continuing on his way. There was something about the person he just bumped in to and curiosity got the better of him and he looked back, watching as the man stopped, glanced at the camera and touched the wall then moved towards the room Peter had just come from. It was like de javu and as soon as the man was in front of the door something clicked in Peter's mind.

"HEY!" Spinning on his heals, Peter started to job toward the man, the noise catching the man's attention and he took off down the hallway. Peter chased Charlottes stepfather down the hall, calling out to him as he tried to catch up, somewhere along to way past Charlottes door and jumping from an open window, Peter noticed that Olivia had now caught up with him. Glancing back at her, he saw her moving harder and faster, trying to keep with them both. Their footsteps pounded on the ground as the moved faster, Olivia's voice carried down the empty streets, "Stop FBI! STOP!" Shaking his head Peter pushed harder, getting the jump on Olivia he was able to push ahead of her by a few feet, enough to round the corner before her. Just as he came into the alley he skidded to a stop, the girl's stepfather had disappeared in the dead end alley.

Glancing around he saw a shadow from the side, Peter was vaguely aware of Olivia's presence behind him but before either of the could do anything, Peter was jumped from behind and in the commotion, stabbed in the side and her stepfather escaped. "PETER!" Olivia called coming to his side, pulling his shirt up to see the damage. Blood but no deep or major cuts. "Livia, he's gone…" She shook her head, pulled him from the ground and back towards the hospital, intent on getting him checked out but his stubborn side was showing and she had to almost force him sit still. "I'm going to check on Charlotte, if I hear that you have moved or haven't let them check you out, I'll tell Walter that we slept together and then you will have to deal with him…" Peter's mouth opened, shocked as she walked away, leaving him alone with the nurse who was already pulling his shirt up to look at him.

Standing against the wall just outside Peter's door, Olivia ran her hands over her face, her hands shaking from both fear and adrenaline. Adrenaline from the chase and fear that Peter was actually injured badly. Sighing she dropped her head once more, trying to keep her emotions under check, it really had been an emotional month. From searching for Charlotte, to the nightmares about her own stepfather, to letting Peter get his foot in the door of her life, to telling him about the tattoo, to trying to stop herself from wanting to be close to him. After this case is over she really was going to sleep for a week. Pushing off the wall, Olivia swallowed and realized the room Peter was in was up the hall from Charlotte's, so she decided that she should go and make sure the girl was still asleep.

Stepping slowly up to the door, Olivia noticed that there was something small on the floor, it shone in the hall lights. Kneeling down Olivia picked up the small silver dollar, looking over it she noticed it was different but slipped it into pocket, more worried about Charlotte…

**Please review…I don't actually like how this chapter sounds, so please prove me wrong! haha**


	5. Chapter 5

**I am so sorry this took so long, my muse left me and looking after a new born that is not yours is very difficult…anyway, please enjoy and review this chapter…the next chapter won't take as long…I promise!**

**Chapter 5**

7 year old Olive Dunham, sat in her bedroom on the top floor of their double story house. Kneeling on the cushioned bench at her window, she looked down and across the street at the party that was going on.

She and Rachel had been invited to a neighbor's daughters birthday, Rachel had ended up going but the night before Olive hadn't listened to her stepfather when she was told to go to bed and he'd hit her, causing a bruise to form on her eye and her forehead. He had forbidden her to leave the house for the party, he didn't want anyone to see 'how clumsy' she was. So here she was sitting, staring out the window, watching the other kids laughing and playing on the jumping castle.

Standing to the side of the group of children as Olive's mother and her stepfather. They were talking to other parents, laughing and chatting like everything was normal. She watched out the window as a boy and girl played on the sidewalk, away from the jumping castle but close enough for Olive to know they had been invited as well. The children must have sensed that they were being watched as they both turned their heads up to her window.

Gasping Olive ducked down to the ground and brought her knees to her chest, wiping away the small tears that had started to fall as she watched them all play without her, hoping that she hadn't been seen, but the five minutes of silence and being too scared to move was interrupted by heavy footsteps coming in the house and up the stairs. "Olive! Where are you!" her bedroom door swung open and hit the wall behind it with such force that the handle made a dent in the plaster and it bounced back in her stepfather's direction. Olive pushed herself back further into bench, hoping that maybe she could disappear into it before he could get to her.

"I haven't moved, I promise!" her voice carried through the room but it wasn't enough to calm him down. "How come Jody's daughter asked why you were in your room and not at the party? Where you sitting at the window again?" He stepped into the room further, coming to stand over her, he looked out the window and noticed that she could see right down into the neighbors front yard. Locking his jaw, her stepfather grabbed a hold of her arm and yanked her up into a standing position. "I told you not to make a scene, I told you that no one was to know that you were home!"

Coming to stand at the side of her bed, he pushed her so she bounced against the bed and landed on the floor, a loud thud echoing through her small room. "I'm sorry, I just wanted to see what they were doing…" she cried as she held her arm close to her body, the bruise already starting to show. She watched as he walked to the window, slammed it shut and locked it, before moving to her bedroom door and doing the same. Olive sat in her room, crying silently as the afternoon turned into night. She heard her mother and sister arrive home with _him_. Shaking gently she stood from the sitting position she had been in since he had thrown her against the bed, she pulled herself to the bed and closed her eyes. Falling asleep on top of the covers and tears streaking down her face.

* * *

31 year old Olivia Dunham walked towards Charlottes doctor, finally set on taking the small child away from the hospital and into the safety of her own home. Peter was still being cleaned up by the doctor so he wouldn't be too long and yet she still wanted to be as close to Charlotte as possible. Her hand found it's way into her pocket where her fingers played with the coin that she had found on the ground, there was something about it that had caught her attention, whether it was something important or not, she had no idea, but felt the desire to keep it close to her at all times.

"Doctor, I was wondering if I could speak to you about getting Charlotte released tonight, I would like to take her home as soon as possible." Coming up behind the doctor, Olivia reached out to grasp his shoulder, but drew back when he turned around suddenly. "Ah Agent Dunham, I was just coming to find you. We would like to keep her in for another night, just to be sure that she will be ok going away from the hospital," he lead them to a table in the cafeteria, motioning for her to take a seat, "I'm sure you can understand why we would like to keep an eye on her. She may have taken a liking to you and your partner but the psychological damage that has been caused to this five year old girl is…"

"…is extensive, yes I know that doctor. Please, I understand why you want to keep her here, I just don't think it would be best for her right now. She doesn't feel safe on her own, as you have found out, that she asks for me or my partner many times, but I believe right now, she is safer with me, away from here." Olivia motioned towards the entrance to the rest of the hospital. She herself had always hated hospitals and she could tell that Charlotte wanted to leave as well. The doctor huffed, he was not happy with letting the child go, but if Olivia was willing to take her, he couldn't say no.

"Agent Dunham, I hope you understand that you are going against my professional opinion…" Olivia nodded and smiled gently, "It's ok, I know what it's like. We will be fine." Sighing once again the doctor nodded and moved away from the table, "I'll be back with the forms, I won't be long." As he walked away from her, Olivia let a small smile grace her face, she was going to take Charlotte home, she was going to be safe and away from anyone who could hurt her. Dropping her head into her hands, Olivia sighed, it had been a long few weeks and with little amount of sleep, she knew it wouldn't take long before it started to catch up on her.

The sudden smell of coffee found her nostrils and Olivia looked up and found a coffee cup and a hand in front of her. "Black, one sugar." She looked up and found Peter stand at her side, he looked a little worse for wear but better nonetheless. With a small smile, Peter took the seat across from her, memories of the day he told her about himself and her other her flashed through her mind. "I'm sorry about before Livia. I'm just sick of this guy getting away…" Her hands found the coffee cup and she leant forward. "No it's o Peter. I'm glad you went after him, I'm be worried about what could happen if neither of us had seen him. Thank you for looking after her the way you are. She really has taken a liking to you."

Slowly Peter reached out for her hand, resting his on top of hers, she was building a new memory about hospital cafeteria's and so far she liked it. "Livia, I want to be there for her, for both of you. Let me…" "…Agent Dunham, here are the forms, if you would fill them in and bring them back to the nurses station, you will be able to take her home. Now just remember I have given you my opinion on the matter, and now it is up to you." Olivia reached out for the papers and nodded her head, "Thanks doctor, I will." He walked away once more, clearly not happy about letting Charlotte go.

"You're taking her home?" Peter had moved his chair a little closer to hers now, looking over her arm at the paper's in front of Olivia. "Yea, I would feel safer if she was with me. I mean, I can protect her all the time at home, so why should I keep her here? She is going to have nightmares and wake up terrified anywhere she is, so why not have her in a place where she feels safe, ya know?" Shrugging, Olivia pulled a pen out of her pocket and started to fill in the forms. It didn't take long until they were being handed into the nurses station and a sleeping Charlotte was being carried out by Peter. Even though he was injured he still insisted on taking her to the car. "Peter you don't have to do that you know…" All he had to do was give her a look and she stopped speaking, smiling to herself and started towards the house.

* * *

It didn't take long before Charlotte work up struggling in Peter's arms as he carried her into Olivia's apartment, "Shh, Charlotte, you're ok. It's me Peter…" As soon as he said his name, she stopped struggling. "See, Liv and me have taken you to her house, remember we said you would be staying with her…?" He looked down at her in his arms and smiled when he noticed that she had a content smile on her face. "You are safe, I promise…" Olivia had come to stand in front of them both, she placed her hand on Charlottes arm and a kiss on her forehead, before motioning to Peter to take her to the old spare bedroom.

Sitting down at her kitchen table, Olivia brought forward the files that had been thrown there before they had found Charlotte. Some were missing, new information they had found in the last few days was still at the lab but Olivia was set in her ways about finding out everything she could about Charlottes stepfather. "She's down Liv, out like a light…" Peter walked into the kitchen, flicking off the hallway light as he went. "Thanks Peter, you can head home now if you want. We will be ok." She still hadn't looked up at him but when the chair across from her moved she did. "What are you doing?" He reached for the file that she wasn't looking at and pulled it towards him, "I…am not letting this case take over your life. I…am helping you find this bastard." He said it so matter of factly before dropping his head to focus on the files in front of him.

Smiling to herself Olivia looked back at the one in her hands, trying to find anything that might jump out at her. Silence seemed to stretch before he spoke, "Hey Liv, what hospital does it say that Charlottes stepfather was at before he got out…?" Olivia looked up to find his face scrunched, looking down at a line on the page he was reading. "Um…" she searched through all the older dated files and papers until she found one from over 10 years ago. "It says…St. Jude's Mental…" she trailed off as the wheels turned, "And how old is her stepfather?" Peter's question seemed like it was just for clarification, "He was born in 1981 and before you ask the next question, he lived in Jacksonville until he was 10 years old. God Peter…he was treated with cortexiphan?"

She looked up at him, swallowing the panic that was rising. "I don't know Liv, but it says here that he visited the hospital after he was released. Almost every month…I'll give you one guess who he went to see…" Swallowing again, Olivia knew he was going to see Nick Lane. "Peter what is going on? None of this makes any sense…." Olivia dropped her head into her hands and sighed. "Ok look, that's enough for now. You and I are going to get some sleep, tomorrow Charlotte can stay with Astrid and you and me will go over everything there is and see what we missed. Olivia, whatever is going on here, we will figure it out. Trust me." His hand had reached for her face by the time he was done speaking. He had leaned in and rested his forehead on hers.

"Trust me Olivia…" he repeated the last night so quietly that if Olivia hadn't have felt his breath on her lips. He leaned in ever so slowly and let his lips gently touch hers. Olivia didn't move as Peter kissed her. It was soft and gentle, shaking with fear, she leaned in slowly, increasing the pressure on his lips as his hand stayed on her cheek, holding her gently to him.

"Liv…" a small voice pulled them apart and Olivia turned her head to find Charlotte standing in the doorway, holding onto the arm of a teddy Peter had found her, her pj's consisting of one of Olivia's old t-shirts…for the moment. "Are you ok sweetheart?" Olivia had come to kneel in front of her by this time but no words came out of the girls mouth except the heartbreaking sob. Olivia scooped her up into her arms and pulled her tightly to her. Dropping them both to the floor, Olivia sat with Charlotte resting on her knees, silent tears streaming down her cheeks. Brushing away the hair at the back of her neck, a small red and black mark caught her attention. It was not a bruise…something entirely different…

**Please review!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Ok so you have all waited (patiently I hope) long enough for this. As my Highschool fic is finished, I am now finished this fic for you all! This will be slow for a little while because I have uni still but I promise it will be finished soon. **

**Enjoy and please review :D**

**Chapter 6**

12 year old Olive Dunham sat in her health class and stared down at the paper in front of her. The pictures stood out to her, her heart dropped and her stomach did flip-flops like crazy. The heat in her face rose and the sweat began to build up. With her shaking hands, she put the picture under her desk, moved away from it and towards the teacher. "Excuse me? Can I please go to the bathroom, I'm not feeling to well" Olive's voice found the teacher's ears and she looked up, nodded and went back to correcting the work she had.

Olive ran straight for the door, the cool air slamming against her face when she was free from the classroom. Her head was spinning with the new information that she had been given, her hands were now not the only things shaking, her entire body had begun to shake, her heart rate had increased and her body felt like it was going to revolt on her. Storming into the bathroom, Olive went straight for the closest toilet, emptying her stomach over and over again. It couldn't be happening. He was supposed to be out of her life forever and now, everything she did reminded her of him. Trembling as she held on to the toilet, she heard the bathroom door open and close again and she stopped, waited for who ever to do what they had to before leaving again. Once she knew she was alone, Olive let her tears fall, tumbling down her face with no chance for them to stop.

They had just started learning about the reproductive system, sexual intercourse and puberty, something that she had just started going through herself, and the picture that was given to them was of a drawing of two people having intercourse. Olive knew at that moment that that was what _he_ had done to her so long a go. She had always just thought it was a bad dream, painful but nothing huge, but now, with the information that had been given to her, she knew that it was so much more than that. Trying to stand, Olive looked at herself in the mirror, her hair was sticking to her face, tears were still streaking down her face as she wiped her hand across it. He had been gone for 3 years, and yet she knew that the nightmares wouldn't leave her, they would be back and they would be worse than ever. That is how a _baby _is made! She couldn't believe it, she couldn't believe that was what he was doing to her. She just wanted it all to be over, she wanted to forget everything that he had done.

* * *

31 year old Olivia Dunham laid a sleeping Charlotte on the bed once more. The girl had cried herself to sleep on Olivia's lap, being rocked back and forward slowly, the motion soothing her back to sleep. Standing out side the door, Olivia sighed. "Peter, what is going on?" Pushing away from the closed door she came to sit again the counter, not far from Peter, who had sat himself at the table, leaving Olivia to deal with the crying child. "Her stepfather was treated with cortexiphan, she has a tattoo on the back of her neck and I found your bloody coin at the hospital!" Her hand's found her face as she dropped her head, taking deep breaths, trying to calm down her heart rate and also her mind, it was running a mile a minute.

Peter looked up at her, confused for a moment, "My coin?" He honestly didn't know what she was talking about, he'd never had a coin… "Yea, Walter showed me a photo of it once, it was your lucky silver dollar he said. I don't know, I found it the other day…" She walked over to her bedroom and came out moments later carrying the coin, placing it in his hand and waited for him to answer. She watched as he flipped the coin back and forward across him fingers before looking down at it closely, as if trying to place it somewhere in his mind.

He blinked a few times, small snippets of memories coming back to him suddenly as if the coin was triggering the memory. "My mother…she gave me this when I was young, I was sick." He blinked some more and then it was like the memory was gone, he looked up at Olivia and sighed, "I don't really remember much of anything from over there. I don't remember her much either, except for when I saw her over there, she was so happy to see me, she looked so…alive…" he was now looking down at the coin again, he missed the saddened look Olivia gave him when she realised that she had taken him from his mother once again, she had done the same thing Walter had done many years ago. "Peter…I'm sorry. I didn't even think about your mother over there. I shouldn't have come over, I should have left you with her, you were happy and so was she." Peter's eyes snapped up at Olivia's words.

"Livia, I chose to come back. Don't ever think you took me from her, do you understand? And I wasn't completely happy, I missed the small things. I missed this place, the familiarity of it all. That place, over there, was so foreign to me, I didn't know anything about it, everything I said they had no idea. When I heard your name, she had come to see Walternate and someone had introduced her, the sudden longing to actually see you, to know that you were there became too much, I knew I had made the wrong choice." He looked away from her again, not being able to take the sadness in her eyes. Olivia sighed, even though she was slowly letting him back in, sometimes more than other, like the hand holding, there was still sometimes that it got too much and it hurt all the same. Pushing back the sadness she glanced back to the bedroom, checking to see if Charlotte was still asleep, she moved close towards Peter.

"Peter…hey…" she was trying to get his attention, but when nothing worked she placed her hand on his cheek and gently pulled his face closer to hers, her lips resting gently on his and a sigh escaping her mouth. Peter kissed her back, wanting to believe that she was the one who had initiated the kiss, needing to feel her so close, want her so much. He felt her hands go from his cheek to his hair, tugging slightly and bringing him closer. "Livia…" Peter pulled away slowly, resting his forehead against hers, "Peter, don't over think this, I wanted that and I know you did too…" she smiled under his gaze, he looked a little shocked that she had kissed him, but over the last few weeks with their case and mending of bridges it seemed fitting.

"Here…" she handed him a file that was sitting on the ground, "…lets start from the start, maybe we will find something in here…" Looking down at the file in his hands Peter noticed that it was of Charlotte's stepfathers childhood, he knew Olivia was clutching at straws with the file but maybe there was something in there.

* * *

Working together for almost two hours, Peter would glance up at Olivia and notice that she was hurriedly writing down notes on a pad, or moving around the files until she found what she was looking for. He also found that she had dropped her shoulders, sighing in displeasure one too many times for his liking. "Livia, what's wrong?" His voice brought her from her thoughts and he watched as her eyes focused on him before moving back down to the file in her hand. "This…" she motioned to the file, "…is a police report of all her injuries and the psych eval from the hospital, she didn't speak, didn't say a word to them, they don't know what to do with her, they don't even know what was done to her. They think she can't remember, but at her age, and after something like this, you remember everything…"

Closing her eyes, Olivia dropped the file on the table and groaned, "Ya know, I remember everything. Everything the son of a bitch did to me and to my mother. I remember every fist, every fight, every…" she stopped short, not knowing how to continue, but when Peter had come to sit at her side, she knew she was going to have to tell him. There was only so much time she could keep this from Peter and she knew that if the case continued the way it was going, he was going to find out, and she honestly preferred he heard it from her and no one else.

"When I was little, he would hit me. I know I told you he just hit my mother but it was me as well. I was so young, maybe five years old, I would take it, just as long as he stayed away from Rachel." Swallowing, Olivia looked down at her hands, Peter's coming to rest on top, encouragingly. "He would get me to sing for him and hit me if I didn't, I refused to sing after that. Never picked it up again after he left. But there were nights, when I was so young that he would…" groaning Olivia trailed off, she had never told anyone about what he did and now she was going to tell the one person she knew wouldn't hold it against her, she felt like she could tell him.

"Livia…" Peter's hand froze on hers, it had started to move against her skin, "…what…" even he was afraid of the answer to the question, but it was something he could tell she wanted to get off of her chest. "He would come into my room, my bed, me. Each night a week he would come, I would be so scared, god it felt like every night it would happen, which it wasn't but it was more so when he was angry and drunk and my mother wasn't around. She would go out with Rachel once a week, believing, stupidly, that I would be ok on my own with him…" She scrubbed her face, sighing, "I was so young, I had no idea what was happening until Sex Ed when I was 12 and then I felt sick." She heard Peter's sharp intake of breath before looking up at him, his eyes murderous. His hand reached out for hers resting on it gently, before slipping his fingers between hers, there was no way that words could describe what was going on through his head, nor would they make her feel any better. "Peter, you needed to know, before something happens with this case and you are unaware, I didn't want you to get hurt because of something I haven't told you. I know we haven't been on the best of terms recently, but you and me, we will always be able to tell each other things, and I needed you to know. I trust you Peter, please just, remember that."

Clearing her throat Olivia stood suddenly, her hands shaking slightly as she tried to come to terms with the memory of it all. "I'm going to bed, you can stay here if you like, sorry but the couch is all that is free right now. We can get Astrid over in the morning and go to HQ and keep searching." She walked directly to her room, not looking back at him in fear of what she would see. Closing her door slowly, Olivia let her emotions finally take over, laying on her bed, she curled up against the pillow and silently cried herself to sleep.

* * *

Peter hadn't moved from his seat at the table, his hands and arms resting on the tabletop, he was frozen solid. His mind was reeling, the way he looked at the situation now and the case was completely different. The way to Olivia was with Charlotte, the way she seemed to _understand _exactly what was happening with the child made sense. Staring at her bedroom door, Peter let him mind wander to images of a scared little girl, crying and screaming, images that were making him physically sick and angry. Olivia had just opened up a little bit more, letting him in a little more, he was glad to jump at the opportunity that she was giving him, but what she was telling him, was enough to give him nightmares, he knew she had been having them.

Before he was able to move, two small words fell from his mouth, hitting the closed door and echoing through the silent and empty apartment, "I'm sorry…" Shock had started set in and he was beginning to shake with anger. How could someone do that to a child! How could someone hurt Olivia like that? He shoved the chair away from the table, hearing it scraping along the floorboards, he paced, he shook and he vented. Stopping in the middle of her lounge, Peter glanced at her bedroom door, before grabbing his jacket and keys. He needed to vent his anger and he couldn't do that with her in the other room.

**Please review, so i know if its worth continuing this fic :D**


	7. Chapter 7

**I am so sorry this has taken so long to get finished. I had heaps of school work to finish and now I am writing this while I am on holidays in the states, so please enjoy and I should hopefully be able to get the next one out soon enough. Please review :D**

**Chapter 7**

3 year old Olive Dunham, sat in her small bedroom, playing with the soft toy dog her father had left her, she was silent as her bedroom door opened slowly, quietly, she could hear her mother laughing on the other side, whispering to someone else who was with her. "She is going to love you…come one…" her mother's voice grew louder as the door opened, her mother's 8-month pregnant belly coming through the door first. Little Olive was so excited to meet her little sister, her mother said she would be coming out to play very soon, but Olive didn't want to wait, she wanted someone new to play with. "Olive, sweetheart, I have someone who wants to meet you. Could you put the dog down please…" her mother's voice filled the room like a song. Olive stood, never letting go of the dog that her father had given her though.

As she stood, a shadow came from behind her mother, towering over the two of them, blocking the light that was coming into her bedroom. Standing behind her mother was a man, someone little Olive didn't remember, and she remembered _everyone_. "Hello, Olive." He was on his knee now, coming to her height now, she watched him closely, his hand hidden behind his back. "Olive, my name is Mark, I was wondering if you would let me be part of your family?" Olive watched him closely, her eyes flickering her this man in front of her and then her mother, watching as her mother smiled encouraging at her. Taking a small step forward towards the man, Olive stopped short when the man's hand came from around his back, producing a brand new baby doll for her. Her blonde hair was long, the jumpsuit was anything but girly though, blue with stars on it. His smile was shining in the room as he watched Olive stare at the doll.

Olive watched the doll closely, blinking innocently at it a few times before reaching out with her left hand for it, her right preoccupied with the dog that was still in her hand. As her small hand found the soft body of the doll she smiled, stepping closer to it to get a better look. Touching it's face, the name moved the doll closer to her and she stopped moving before taking the whole doll in her small hand, looking up to find her mother smiling widely at her. Olive now had someone new to play with. The man reached his hand out for hers, and she watched him again. Thinking carefully before moving another step towards him. The last thing she remembered from that day was reaching out to his hand with her right one, taking his hand and walking from her room.

The soft toy dog lay in the middle of the empty room, silence and dark, forgotten for years, before being looked at and wished he was never left there, wished that the little girl never let go of him.

* * *

32 year old Peter Bishop stood outside the only open pub within walking distance of Olivia's apartment. It was late, he honestly didn't know what time it was but after hearing Olivia retell the horror from her childhood, he didn't think he could sleep, even if he wanted to. Slipping in from the cold, inside the heated and darkened room, he pulled up a chair at the bar and waited, all thoughts leaving his mind as he stared at himself in the mirror, the face of a man who just walked out on the woman he loved when she was sad and hurting. Even though he knew she wouldn't want him there with her, he should have stayed with her, he should be there, just in case she needed him, or just for him to be there.

Sighing, he was pulled from his thoughts when the bartender came to block his view of himself. "You look like hell man." His words were true and yet not so harsh to Peter's ears as anyone would expect them to be. Peter only nodded, not trusting his own voice, "What can I get you man?" Peter looked up at the man, he was younger than Peter, lucky if he was more than 25 years old, too young to be giving him advice but Peter had been on both sides of the bar and he knew that when you don't know the other person, it doesn't matter what the age difference is, a different view of the situation can help the person who has the issue. "Bourbon thanks." The bartender nodded, bringing him a tumbler and filling it double what he usually would.

"What's brought you in so late? Look like you should be with the misses." The bartender took a seat opposite Peter and watched him swirl the drink around for a bit. Peter only nodded. Silence stretched between them, but the bartender wasn't going anywhere. "What would you do if you fucked up so bad with a woman, you would die to get it back the way it was?" Peter was sure that the bartender had heard this story many a time before. "Well, I would do everything in my power to make sure I was there to show her I wanted to make up for it. Wanted to be with her." Peter nodded again, it seemed that was all he could actually do tonight. "And if she told you she was abused by one person who should have been the one looking after her? How he laid a hand on her as a child, when a child should be cherished? What if you just let her walk away after telling you and you find yourself in a bar, alone…?"

The bartender sighed, hearing the pain in Peter's voice was enough for him to gage that the story he was told was dark and hurtful. "Well man…" he reached for Peter's half full glass, pulled it away from his hands before emptying it in the sink, "…I wouldn't be sitting in a bar, alone…I would be with her, telling her that you are there for her, no matter what she needs." Peter watched the man walk away before dropping his head to the bar, groaning, Peter pushed himself away from the bar, giving the bartender a quick, thankful nod before heading for the door and leaving towards Olivia's apartment once more.

He was lost in thought as he came to her door, having taken her keys on the way out, he let himself back in, and looked around. She had left the heating on, as well as a small pile of pillows and blankets for him, she must have woken up while he was gone and thought he might come back. Dropping the keys back where he had gotten them from he stop a small step towards Charlotte's room, glancing in he noticed her still curled up where they had left her hours ago. He smiled, the girl really was growing on him and he was sure that when the time came he wouldn't be able to let her go. Closing the door to her spare room once he stepped out, he made the courageous walk towards Olivia's room. Letting out a deep breath he opened the door slowly, making sure he didn't wake her as he peaked him, taking in the difference of the room, now that _his _Olivia was back.

She lay on the bed, under the covers, but he could see the tank she was wearing peaking out over the top of the blanket, her back towards him. She slept differently to _her_, she looked softer, more calm under the blankets. Finding more courage he stepped into the room, walked to the side of her bed and knelt down, taking in the peacefulness of her face, the lack of worry and concern as she slept, the feeling of safety she gave off as she was curled up under the blanket and pillow.

Kneeling in front of her bed, he watched her for a moment, taking in the lack of lines, and the hardness was known with Olivia Dunham. Brushing away a small piece of hair behind her ear, causing Olivia to move, her eyes cracking open ever so slowly, before blinking a few times and focusing on him. "What time is it?" her voice was above a whisper, deep with tiredness and sleep. "It's late, Charlotte is still out like a light. I just wanted to make sure your ok. I know I left in a hurry before…" his voice trailed off as her hand reached for his, pulling him closer to the bed. "Stay with me?" she had already rolled over, pulling him closer to the side of the bed. Peter moved closer, more slowly, before sitting on the edge of the bed, taking off his shoes before laying down, under the covers that Olivia had thrown away for him. As soon as he lay down, Olivia was curling into his side, almost already asleep but not before he spoke, his voice echoing in an otherwise silent room. "I'm sorry.

Olivia's head shot up, shocked that he had spoken, but shocked even more that that was the words out of his mouth. "Peter, I didn't tell you what happened so you would feel sorry for me, I told you because I wanted you to know exactly what happened. No lies or half truths between us…" She watched him for a moment, wondering if anything was going to come from his lips at all, but when nothing came, she continued, "Peter, when I was little, so much more happened to me, than I like to admit, I was scared, tormented and terrified, but I stood up for myself and I know that Charlotte needs me to help her though this. My stepfather…he was a horrible man, not just to me but also in general. He would swear and yell all the time, in the car, at the shopping centre, everywhere that someone might have done something little to annoy him. Most of the time, that was me, whether I didn't go to bed when he told me to or, just that he would come to my room when he was drunk, it was always me who was given the worst beatings." Olivia paused, taking in a breath and trying to steady her racing heart, "He would come to my room at night, he would touch me and more." She looked away from him for a moment, trying to find the words to continue, "If I fought back, he would rape me, he would kiss me, tell me it was alright, tell me he loved me. And then, in the mornings he wouldn't even look at me. I know what she is going through Peter, I _have_ to help her." Olivia leaned in closer to him, needing to feel the warmth he was giving off, laying in her bed.

Peter looked back at her, unsure of how to take everything she had just told him, unsure of what she wanted to hear, but slowly, "I'm here…" he whispered in the night, holding her closer than before. Olivia had already leaned in a placed a gently kiss to his lips, it was soft and sweet and held nothing more than reassuring him that everything was going to be ok. Sighing, she rest her head on his covered chest before smiling to herself, "You know, you _can_ get changed, you _can_ take off your jeans and shirt if you're uncomfortable…" She didn't have to look up to see the smirk that was resting on his lips, "You'd like that wouldn't you?" A short chuckle came from her lips before she moved up a little, pressing a hot kiss to his neck, just at where his shirt ended. "Livia, stop now, you need to rest, we both do and I have a feeling that Charlotte will be up early in the morning." He placed a kiss on the top of her forehead before feeling her relax against his body, both falling into welcoming sleep shortly after that.

It was late, Peter was unsure of what time it actually was but the sun hadn't come up just yet, he had felt the bed move, thinking that it was just Olivia, he pulled her closer, bringing her so her back was against his front, holding her closer than ever before. But what really caught his attention was when the bed moved again, this time, from behind him. Turning suddenly, he found Charlotte kneeling on the side of the bed looking back at him with expectant eyes. Smiling back at her, Peter rolled onto his back, took her in his arms and pulled her to his chest, hugging her close. It didn't take long before she was asleep on his chest and Olivia had turned and curled up into his other side, sleeping peacefully, with a kiss on her forehead Peter was asleep in moments.

* * *

Rolling a little more to her left, Olivia felt Peter's arm close around her, tighter then before, as if not wanting to let her go or let her move to far from him, but as she opened her eyes slowly, she noticed that Charlotte had her small arms wrapped around Peter's chest, not even touching the mattress on the other side, but they were both asleep and she was happy with that.

Slipping out of bed softly, Olivia made her way towards the kitchen, intent of coffee, as is was after 9am, before sitting at the kitchen table, file in hand and a pair of new eyes ready to find the pieces of information that she was missing. It felt like forever that she had been sitting at the table before her eyes glanced over the names on Charlottes file, her listed mother, Claire Walker and her listed father, her stepfather. She looked at the names a couple of times, trying to think of why they reminded her of something that was on the corner of her mind. She knew that her stepfather was part of the cortexiphan trials, it was something she had realised not to long ago but the names were something that she hadn't thought of before. They had run checks on the stepfather for sure, and also on the mother, trying to find her but only finding that she had dies long ago, it was clear that no one had run a check on the girl.

Sighing Olivia reached for her laptop, logging into the FBI database to run on medical search on Charlotte and noting to herself that she needed to yell at the agent who put the file together before her, she knew _she _would never have made the mistake not to run background on the girl's name. Rubbing her forehead she realised that she needed to speak to Nick but sadly knew that was not going to happen any time soon and so she just kept going, flicking through files and pages and photos. She wasn't finding anything, it was frustrating and annoying but when the search was complete, up popped screen after screen of information on Charlotte Walker, school records, medical records, pictures in local newspapers, everything to indicate that the little girl she had information on and the little girl who was sleep in her bedroom, were _not _the same person. Olivia let out a deep sigh, she had proof now that Charlotte was from the other side.

**Please review :D**


	8. Chapter 8

**This should have been up a long time ago and I am so very sorry, I now have time to write so there should be a new update in a couple of days…please review! :D**

**Mistakes are my own!**

**Chapter 8**

5-year-old Olive Dunham listens as her mother and stepfather fight long into the night, it wasn't a few occurrence; it was actually something she had become accustomed to. Sitting at the top of the stairs, holding on to the banister tightly and peering through two of them into the lounge or the entrance to the kitchen, the view was perfect, except what was consisted in the view was not too much. Rachel had long fallen asleep, the fighting didn't usually occur until after they were both asleep but once Olive had realised that was what was happening down stairs, nothing much could keep her asleep.

It had started not long after he married their mother, at first he was sweet and kind, bought them toys and took them places but as soon as they came home from what Olive was told was a holiday for adults, things were different, _he _was different and so was their mother. They fought, argued and threw things. He drank, yelled and broke their toys, their mother would cry and yell, hide in their bedroom when he was drinking down stairs or when he would just up and leave, he did that a lot. But tonight was a little different, something was different about the way they argued, about the things that were said, things that Olive didn't understand but would when she was older. Things like, "it's your fault, you said we were careful!" or "I don't want it!" there was more crying from her mother, more agonising moans when she was struck by his fist, undoubtable trying to put her back in her place.

It was also the first time where Olive had been able to sit at the top of the stairs and not be caught by him as he pulled his keys from his jacket pocket and slammed the door on his way out of the house, he had missed her sitting there, watching them both, listening to the awful sounds that were coming from the bottom level of the house. And it was also the first time, _ever,_ that their mother came to their bedroom, grabbed them both, Olive in her pyjama's and Rachel still asleep and left the house, not even bothering to lock it behind her. Lights flashed as they drove fast towards an unknown location, the streetlights had faded and now all that illuminated the roads was the neon lights from the motels that lined the strip. They pulled into one, and were ushered into a room that had one bed; a bassinet was being brought in for Rachel, their mother became making phone calls, Olive just sat in the corner on the old bed as her mother cried, held her stomach in pain and hid herself in the bathroom.

She glanced around the room and found that there was very little in there for her. The small beds sat in each of the corners of the room and aside from the TV there was a small lonely coffee machine, the light blinking at Olive, like a steady heartbeat that became the focus of the room. Aside from the bible there was nothing for the five year old to read and no TV for her to watch, she just took Rachel onto the bed and held her until the next time Olive saw their mother she had come out of the bathroom to open then front door and to Olive's surprise Aunt Missy walked through, dropping her bag on the floor and taking her sister into her arms. Olive was too young to know that their little brother or sister was not going to be.

* * *

27 year old Rachel Dunham had reluctantly walked into her sister's apartment to find that Peter was already there, albeit wearing very little and as she looked around she noticed that her sister was sitting in the kitchen, glancing at her laptop wearing, what Rachel knew to be pyjama's as well. Looking around she knew there was something different about the apartment, not just that Peter was there but she sensed someone else. "Liv?" her voice echoed through the quiet room's causing Peter's head to snap up before he jogged to what Rachel knew to be the spare room and she watched as he leaned in slowly before coming back and pulling the door shut, as he turned back to Rachel he placed his finger over his lips to signal being quiet, before heading toward the kitchen where Olivia still hadn't looked up.

"Livia, Rachel is here…" Peter placed his hand on her shoulder, he was able to get her attention fairly easily and Rachel watched as a small smile spread across her lips as she looked at him. "Rach, thank you so much for coming, I know you have work today but this is important." Olivia rose from her seat, squeezing Peter's hand in the process. She watched as he pulled back on her hand before she could move away, "Livia, are you sure about this? I can stay…" She shook her head, already deciding that she wanted Peter by her side. "No, I need you with me for this, I don't think I can do it alone…" She turned to Rachel, who had yet to be told why she was called out of work to be at Olivia's apartment. "Rach, I need a favour…" Olivia moved away from the kitchen, towards the spare room Peter had looked into before, a few minutes passes before Olivia emerged with a small child hiding between her legs. The child was rubbing her eyes, yawning loudly.

"Rachel, I would like you to meet Charlotte." Olivia had already put her hands onto Charlottes shoulders, hoping that would give her the incentive as to not be afraid but she could feel Charlotte moving closer to her legs, afraid of the new person who had come into the house. It wasn't until Peter stepped into the room did Charlotte move away from Olivia, running straight passed Rachel and into Peter's arms, holding onto him so tightly that if he was wearing a shirt it would have scrunched up in her hands. "I need you to look after her for a few hours, something has come up at work and I can't bring her with me." The look on Rachel's face screamed that she wanted to know exactly what was going on and why Peter was there and why there was a child in the house. Rachel heard Peter's voice, softly, knowing he was talking to the girl. "Come on sweetheart, how about we do some colouring in or something?" Charlotte must have agreed because Peter wanted straight passed Olivia, with a sweet, small smile before heading into the spare room and closing the door.

"Liv, what the hell is going on? Not too long ago you were telling me how much of jerk Peter is and how you can't believe you told him how you felt about him and now he is in your apartment, wearing not much at all I might add, and there is a small child in your house, who seems to be attached to the both of you." Olivia watched as she crossed her arms over her chest, a stance that she had gotten from their mother, she did a similar stance when the girls were in trouble and they knew, that when their mother crossed her arms over her chest, they had some explaining to do. Sighing, Olivia sat back at the bar stool that had been pulled away from the bench, originally having papers all over it.

"Well Peter is…well he is a long story so I think that can wait, but we are doing better, I never thought we would be doing better but the two of us are getting back to where we used to be and where we should be. As for the child, Charlotte, she was a case we were given, a missing child, her stepfather physically, mentally and sexually abusing her. Anyway, we found her and became attached to me and then to Peter. He is the only male she will go near, so he is helpful when there are other guys around, she just staying in his arms and she feels safe. And I know what you are going to say, I asked if she could stay with me, they tried to have her with other people in the hospital but she panicked and freaked out, me and Peter were called to the hospital and she calmed down, we felt it safer and better for her if she was with us." Rachel just listened as Olivia spoke, explaining as much as she could, knowing that Rachel would have more questions but she wouldn't know where to start.

"You are falling for her, aren't you?" It shocked Olivia more than Rachel was expecting it to, she honestly thought that Olivia had realised that she had become attached to the child she rescued because she knew that the child had definitely become attached to her and there was no way either of them were going to let go in the end. "Sweety, what are you going to do when you have to give her up?" Rachel's voice was soft now, breaking into Olivia's thoughts as she watched her downcast eyes, finally taking in the realisation that she was going to have to give her up and what it would mean to them both when that time came. "I…I don't know but right now, until we find her stepfather, she isn't going anywhere." The voice and tone was also something that came from their mother. The finality of Olivia's words stopped anymore coming from Rachel, who just agreed to look after Charlotte while Olivia and Peter went about finding her stepfather.

* * *

The car ride was quiet, neither Peter or Olivia spoke, as they were both trying to come to terms with what had happened that night, granted it wasn't huge but Olivia had kissed Peter, she had placed her faith back into him and now he was just wondering where she was going to take it, whether is it was just that, showing her faith in him and forgiving him or if she wanted more. He knew he wanted more, he knew he would do anything for her to hold out her hand to him and ask him to stay with her forever.

Olivia was still thinking about the kiss when she heard Peter's phone buzzing in his pocket, she didn't bother asking him about it assuming that it was just Astrid she went back to thinking about Peter and also about Charlotte and what Rachel had said to her back at the apartment. She was falling for the girl and she honestly didn't know what was going to happen when they came knocking on her door to put Charlotte into care. Olivia didn't want to let her go and she could tell already that Charlotte didn't want to go anywhere. Sighing Olivia knew the next thing that was going to happen in her life, not only keep Peter by her side for as long as she could, but she would having that brave little girl move in the house for good. Although as the silence stretched between them it was broken by the ringing of Olivia's phone.

"Dunham…" she waited a moment before clicking it to hands free so she didn't have to hold onto the phone. "Agent Dunham, the girl's stepfather is here, he is asking for you." Broyles voice echoed in the silence car, a stunned Olivia and Peter just stared at each other, wondering what the hell was going on and why the he had just turned himself in. "He wants me to give you a message. He said _goodbye, _although he has not spoken a word since he was arrested. Are you on your way? I have a feeling you will be the only one who will be able to get through to him." Shaking her head, Olivia cleared her thoughts, "Um…yes sir, Peter and I are on our way, what did he mean _goodbye?_"

But before anything else could be heard, Peter's voice called through the car as he grabbed for Olivia, pulling her closer to him and away from her driver side door, just as the truck coming through the intersection slammed directly into their car, sending it skidding to the side, tries screeching and voices screaming into air.

* * *

Leaving forward in the passenger seat, Peter placed his head in his hands, trying to clear the throbbing pain that was building there and trying to think why it was hurting so much, but as his vision cleared, as did his memory. His head shot up as he looked around at the mangled mess of the car they were in but his eyes landed on the still form of Olivia, her face leaning towards him and deathly pale.

"Livia?..." he shook her shoulder gently, trying to rouse her but nothing seemed to be working, "Liv! Livia…come on Livia, you need to wake up! Come one sweetheart, I need you to open your eyes, please…Livia!" a groan from her waking form sent a spark of pleasure through his body, he watched her lean closer to him, as if trying to get closer to his voice. "Peter? What happened?" by the time she had come around almost fully, Peter had unbuckled his seat belt and was leaning over her side of the car, checking over her face. "We were hit. You've got cuts all over your face, your window shattered. How's your shoulder?" Olivia groaned once more, realising exactly what was going on, but it was not the fact that Peter's hands were suddenly pulled away from her cheeks, or the fact that she could feel the blood dripping down her face but when her driver's side door was wrenched but could not be moved, she looked up and found that Peter had moved out of the car and to the side.

"Livia, the door is stuck, I can't get it open!" Peter's voice had become frantic, every time he pulled at the door, a jolt of agony ripped through Olivia's leg and she would cry out in pain. "Peter! Please stop! I'm stuck!" her voice was matching his. He stopped pulling at the door and just looked at her, fear reflected in his eyes as it was in hers. There was now more people around the car, some coming to help get her out, other just wanting to tick their noses in and see what was going on.

"Sweetheart, I don't know if I can get you…" his voice trailed off as he looked around suddenly, something taking his focus that seemed to be more important that her at that time. "Liv, I smell gas…" he leaned down and noticed that the gas tank was in fact leaking and his heart rate spiked. "The tank is leaking Liv, we need to get you out of her, now!" he pulled at the door with a renewed force, only succeeding in panicking her even more. "Peter…" her voice called to him and he look up, sensing the fear in her voice, before following her eye line and finding that there was smoke coming from under the raised bonnet of the car.


	9. Chapter 9

**Ok, so this was a little harder to get right than I thought it would be, I changed the end of the chapter about 3 times, so I hope we are still intrigued…please send a little review my way to let me know :D mistakes are my own…**

**Also because Fringe was screwed out of many Emmy's please sign this petition to have a Sci-Fi category added to the Emmy list**

**Twitter: **.com/wmroj

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**Enjoy and please review :D**

**Chapter 9**

7 year old Olive Dunham stood with her back against the wall in the hallway, she knew that the phone call had been important or else her mother wouldn't have sent her and her sister to their rooms, but Olive knew better she waited for a few minutes before going back down to the hallway and listening in to the conversation that was being held in the kitchen. She listened out for words she might have recognised but the one she wasn't expecting to hear was her father's followed by sobs and tears and in that moment Olive knew, she just knew that he wasn't coming home to them.

It wasn't as if he would have been coming home to them anyway, she had been told by her mother, after her father had left, that if he came home, he wouldn't be coming home to them, Olive didn't know what that meant years ago but it had been over 4 years since her father had left, letters coming in the mail for them, just to let me know he was still ok but he wouldn't be coming home. Her mother and father had had a huge fight before he walked into Olive's room, she was only 2 years old, kissing her on the forehead before telling her he loved her, that was the last time she had seen him.

Her mother had always told her she loved him but when Olive had gotten older and had asked her mother where her father was and why he wouldn't be coming back to them, her mother just sighed and explained that they had stopped being together long before he had left, long before he had gone away to a war that seemed to never have ended. It was also in that moment that she had found out that her little sister, little Rachel, was not her sister, or at least not in the strictest sense. Her mother had explained to her that Rachel was her stepfather's daughter and that was why he would never hurt her, why he would always go after Olive instead. This rocked Olive; it took her a while before she looked at her sister the same way.

Olive was a smart girl, much smarter than she should have been for her age and so she knew, it wasn't Rachel's fault and she knew that she loved Rachel more than ever because she had a horrible person for a father, at least Olive could claim no relation to the man who beat her and her mother, Rachel on the other hand, had no choice and yet her mother had allowed her to grow up believing that Olive's father was hers as well, which lead Olive to believe that was why her stepfather would abuse her mother, he resented her for it.

* * *

Olivia sat back against the seat, and sighed, the pain in her leg hadn't gone away but the fire trucks and ambulance had arrived so she and Peter felt a little better knowing that someone else was there to help them through. The first thing they did was spray the front of the car, letting the foam soak into the engine, essentially stopping all chance of the SUV exploding, but the next problem was, getting Olivia out safe and sound, and also keeping her awake.

Paramedics had determined that any more blood loss would be very dangerous for her but instead of working to stop the bleeding, they first had to work to get her out. "Livia, look at me…come on sweetheart…" Peter placed his hand inside the shattered window, touching Olivia's face in an attempt to keep her focus on him and keep her awake and talking. She rolled her head towards him, blood staining her cheek from the gash caused by the broken glass but her eyes told a different story. "Peter…I'm so tired…" she spoke softly, her voice barely above a whisper. "I know sweetheart, but I need you to keep your eyes open for me, can you do that? I want you to tell me something…anything…tell me something I don't know…" he moved to the side of the SUV, letting the fire fighters through so they could begin work on getting Olivia out.

She moved her head slightly to the side so she could see where Peter had gone and to her surprise Peter hadn't moved further than the column separating the front and back doors. "I…made a mistake…that night…" her words trailed off the she slipped into unconsciousness with the last thing she heard was Peter voice, calling to her, begging her to stay awake.

* * *

Peter sat silently for hours, begging, hoping that Olivia would wake up. The fire fighters had managed to get her out of the car but not before the lack of blood had gotten to her and she had slipped into unconsciousness. He hadn't left her side from that moment on, never wanting to let her out of his sight again, but he was so tired, that it got to a point where he could just stare at her lifeless body anymore and he allowed his mind to wander.

He thought back to the night they had slept in the same bed, the feeling of having her sweep her lips across his and then the moment where she said she was wrong, about that night. His heart left hoping she meant the night in Barrett's garden, the night she had told him she didn't want to be with him; he just hoped that she had changed her mind. A knock at the door pulled in from his thoughts and he looked up to find Charlotte running straight through the door and into his arms, hugging him tightly. "Is Liv going to be ok?" she asked as Peter pulled her onto his lap so she could see Olivia, Rachel following close behind.

"Peter! What happened?" Rachel's voice was frantic, she had no doubt been terrified when she was told Olivia had been in another accident. Rachel looked over Peter's face, he had a two inch long gash down his cheek, as well as bandaging on his neck, covering the spots where the glass had come into contact with skin, but she could also see the strapping that was speaking out the top of his shirt, the paramedics had popped his shoulder back into place at the scene when he had refused to leave Olivia's side, they had strapped it back into place when they had arrived at the hospital.

"Rach…we were in an accident, a truck came through the intersection, I barely saw it coming, I pulled Olivia towards me just as it hit, they said I could have saved her life. God I couldn't do more than call her name…" Peter dropped his head so it rested on Charlottes back, the little girl leaning over to watch Olivia with her small hand resting on Olivia's larger on, like she was a doll that was supposed to wake up within seconds of being touched. Peter felt Rachel's hand rest on his shoulder, "Peter you did what you could…" he looked up to find that she had tears in her eyes, they both knew Olivia was going to be ok, but just the memory of having her in the same place as she was once before when they were told she was going to die scared them both. He watched on as Rachel moved closer to bed, taking her sister's other hand in hers and holding it tight. He closed his eyes for a moment thinking suddenly about what he could have done, what he should have done to keep her safe but it was interrupted by another knock at the door.

Looking up, he found Broyles making his way into the hospital room, taking one look at Olivia's body before motioning for Peter to follow him out in the hallway. "Listen to me Peter, and listen closely, the vehicle that hit your's is registered to the stepfather, he set it up. Turned himself in and with his phone call, set up the accident. He believes that Olivia is dead because that's what he wanted and to be honest with you, for the moment, that's what we want. He seems to want to talk now that she is out of the picture, or so he believes. Now he hasn't confessed to anything so we can't pin him for anything in particular but we need your help to break him. I know you can do it, you've done it before." Peter was shocked, he couldn't believe they had been targeted, he turned back to Olivia's room, looking in through the window at her still laying still before rubbing his hands over his face, exhaustion starting to seep into his body.

He waited for a few moments, thinking that maybe Broyles would speak but he never did, he was leaving Peter to his own thoughts. He looked down at the ground but turned his head so he could make sure that Broyles was still standing behind him, "Give me a minute" before moving back into the room, Broyles watched as Peter moved directly to Charlotte, placing a kiss on her forehead before peaking to her then he moved to Olivia, Broyles watched as he leant down and placed a gently kiss on her lips before closing his eyes and sighing deeply. Broyles had known what was going on between them and he was glad they seemed to be getting back to how things were but he was also hopeful that Peter's feelings for Olivia and the little girl would help them break the stepfather.

* * *

Peter glanced through the one-sided glass window at the man who sat in handcuff at the far side of the table, he seemed…unfazed by what was happening to him, almost as if he was happy to be where he was and that only infuriated Peter more. With his arms crossed over his chest as much as his bandaged shoulder would let him, Peter turned to Broyles, "What do you want me to do? This guy doesn't seem like the sort of guy who will break under a little pressure…" Broyles sighed before handing Peter a file, "We found this…apparently he lost his own daughter a few years ago, his name is Daniel Walker and he was a scientist for US government. He was investigated for child abuse against his own daughter, but unfortunately it was only brought to attention when she was found dead in their family home. No chargers were laid due to a lack of evidence." Peter looked up suddenly, so Charlotte really was from the other side, she had been kidnapped just like he was as a child.

"He grew up in Jacksonville, he is Olivia's age…" Peter looked down at the file in his hands and sighed, they hadn't filled Broyles in on that part and so he began. "Walker was part of the cortexiphan trials. That's how he got to the other side, how he found Charlotte. Olivia has a theory. He was close with Nick Lane, he visited him in the hospital even after Walker was released. Olivia believes that he and Nick, and also another cortexiphan kid crossed over together. She thinks they all remembered the trials and tried to recreate the circle to cross over." Broyles eyebrows shot to his nonexistent hairline as Peter spoke, "That would mean that she would have been here since she was a baby. Nick was only incarcerated for three years before we found him."

Peter nodded, "Yeah, it seemed that before they both went away for a few years they were friends before hand. It says here that Walker was in the hospital for two years, Nick for three. That's means Charlotte was only a baby alright. Ok let me go and have a go at him. Let me know if you hear from the hospital." Peter headed for the door without even a second glance at Broyles or any of the other agents in the small room.

It all happened next as they show in the TV shows. Peter walked in, slammed the door behind him, making Walker jump slightly, before he slapped the file on the table, hearing it echo in the silent room before Peter took a seat and just stared across the table for a moment, sizing each other up. "So, where's the blond girl? The agent…?" Daniel's tone was sarcastic and it made Peter's inside's churn. He swallowed heard before he spoke trying to sound as convincing as possible. "There was an accident, she didn't make it…" the smile that spread across Daniel's face was sickening. "Ah…and so I get stuck with you? The boyfriend? How come you're not at her side?" He leaned forward, trying to be as threatening as possible.

Peter sat back, trying to show that he was afraid of Daniel, and truthfully he wasn't, he was afraid of what he might do to the man who abused his daughter and Charlotte, and also caused the accident that has Olivia unconscious in a hospital for who knows how long. "Mr. Walker. Tell me about your daughter…" Peter flicked through the file in search of his daughters name, "…Evie…" Peter's eyes flickered up to Daniel and he noticed that his expression had changed. "I loved my daughter." His words were hollow and yet they held a different sort of tone, Peter thought that Daniel honestly believed that he loved his daughter, that what he did to her was because of love, it was making Peter sick.

"And Charlotte…?" Peter couldn't help but ask, he wanted to know what Daniel thought of the little girl he kidnapped. "…Did you love her to? Listen to me closely, an agent is dead, a child is scared for life, she is terrified and that's all because of you." Peter sat back again, his shoulder throbbing but he was never going to let it show, not when he was trying to gain the upper hand in the conversation. Daniel just sat back and stared at Peter, smirking like crazy. "You sexually abused her, you raped her…she is only five years old…how do you think she is going to grow up now? What do you think your actions had on that little girl…huh?" he leaned forward now, thinking that maybe a little guilt might work, but he knew, deep down, if this guy hadn't had any guilt up until now, he would never feel guilty for what he did to her. Daniel leaned in closer to Peter, there were only inches apart now but the smile on Daniel's face had not faltered.

"Listen _boy_. I never touched that little girl all right. And you best do well to remember that." Peter was shocked, he hadn't expected to hear him deny the abuse, but the truth was resting just behind his eyes. "Walker listen to me, we know where that little girl is, we have her talking to us, you can just confess and it would make all our lives easier…" Peter was clutching at straws again, he knew it and Daniel knew it, "…just help yourself out here…"

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